Hurricanes 5, Penguins 3
Eric Staal scored the game-winner with 4:34 left in the third period and the Carolina Hurricanes pulled out a 5-3 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
The Penguins trailed 3-0 but climbed all the way back with three goals in the third, including Chris Kunitz’s tally to even things up at 12:18. Staal answered back for Carolina on a feed from Chad LaRose, who then closed things out with his own goal two minutes later.
Tuomo Ruutu tallied twice in a span of 3:11 in the second period and Jeff Skinner scored his seventh goal of the season with two assists to help the Hurricanes stop a four-game losing skid.
Ruutu doubled the Hurricanes’ lead at 15:51 of the second period, finishing from the doorstep to beat a diving Brent Johnson after Skinner sent a pass across the mouth of the goal. The 27-year-old Finn was at it again moments later, retrieving a loose puck and using a backhand for the 3-0 advantage.
Jordan Staal scored a pair of goals during the first 4:43 of the third period, the second coming with the Penguins shorthanded, to pull them within 3-2. The setback snapped Pittsburgh’s brief two-game win streak.
Cam Ward finished with 37 saves for the Hurricanes.